<p>Does anyone know anything about the non-need based scholarships? I didnt even realize that Oberlin had such things until now. However, the fin aid website is very ambigous and doesnt say about how much $ they are or how many students get them. Collegeboard.com says that average non-need based is $11,190.</p>
<p>I'm curious. Does anybody know much about these?</p>
<p>US News says that about 11% received non-need based merit aid in 2006, getting the average amount you mention. It appears to be largely based on academic success in high school. Looking at the numbers it appeared that they are giving less money to more people than in past years, but that may not be the case; there is a new President and Oberlin is committed to economic and ethnic diversity and that might mean less pure merit scholarship money.
Oberlin gives $1,000 non-need based merit awards for National Merit Finalists who name Oberlin as their first choice, UNLESS they are National Merit $2500 winners or receive corporate scholarships for National Merit finalists.
The Conservatory gives merit scholarships to some admittees based on audition rating; it appears to be more generous than the College for pure merit awards.</p>
<p>mamenyu - my son is a sophmore and gets $2000 / year for NMF and he was NOT a National Merit winner. He also received additional merit aid. I don't know what the criteria are but we were quite pleased with his merit money.</p>
<p>I receive a $12,000/year John Frederick Oberlin scholarship. I know several other people with merit scholarships, ranging from mine to $4000/year I believe.</p>
<p>This is what the Oberlin site says:</p>
<p>Oberlin College National Merit Scholarships and National Achievement Scholarships
Oberlin College sponsors a number of National Merit Scholarships, in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $2,000. Finalists in the National Merit Scholarship program competition are eligible for consideration for Oberlin-sponsored National Merit Scholarships if they declare Oberlin as their first-choice college, have filed an application for admission to Oberlin College, and have not been selected as winners of other National Merit or Corporate National Merit Scholarships.</p>
<p>Conservatory Dean's Awards
These scholarships are offered by the Office of Conservatory Admissions to prospective Conservatory students based on audition ratings and ensemble needs. The Office of Conservatory Admissions notifies selected students at the time of admission.</p>
<p>College of Arts and Sciences
A limited number of merit-based scholarships are available for students in the College of Arts and Sciences.The Office of Admissions makes the awards based on academic achievement and notifies students selected to receive merit awards around the time they are notified of admission.</p>
<p>And this is what the Oberlin financial aid officer Scott Juedes said in 2006 about merit scholarships:
"Oberlin does offer Merit Scholarship - both in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music. These scholarships are determined by the Office of Admissions and are based (for the College of Arts & Sciences) mostly on your academic qualities (class rank, GPA, Standardized test scores, etc), however, we do take into account your entire application. There is no separate merit scholarship application."
Although the scholarships from the Conservatory and College have different names (John F. Oberlin Scholarship and Conservatory Deans Talent Scholarship), they come from the same pot, as Juedes explained, so the total amount of the award will reflect that. He also pointed out that it is not altruism that drives the awards -- they are meant to attract students to Oberlin. The competition for students in the Conservatory is different from that for the students in the College, and the scholarship amounts seem to reflect that.</p>
<p>this is helpful. thanks a lot.</p>